Bridging the Gap: Magnum's Story
by Don Trump 4
Summary: Magnum, a mercenary rogue with an unprecedented sense of morality is instructed by Leafstar to find and stop Sol from destroying the other Clans. His character is slowly revealed as the story progresses. Takes place 9 moons after SkyClan and the Stranger.
1. Prologue

This is the final part of SkyClan and the Stranger. In case you never read the manga, this chapter quickly explains just exactly why SkyClan hates Sol.

_ "What in the name of StarClan do you think you're doing?"_

_ Leafstar had the mottled tom pinned down on the ground. Nearby were her 3 kits, watching under the cover of a bush._

_ You stole my kits, she angrily thought, you will pay for this._

_ "I just wanted to prove I could be a warrior too," the tom yells, "By finding the kits."_

_ Worthless mange-pelt. "But you stole them in the first place!" She retorts. She lets go of him but still stays within nipping range._

_ "I had to," he replies. "This was the only way to get you and the rest of the Clan to take me seriously."_

_ "The _only_ way?" Leafstar trails off. He stole kits to become a warrior? "Are you out of your mind?"_

_ His eyes flash in defiance. "I'm always overlooked," he wailed. "Never made leader of a patrol, always scorned because I used to be a kittypet!" He started to bang his rear paw on the ground over and over. "_I can be a warrior!_"_

_ A warrior?! He is a scorn to the name of SkyClan._

_ "No," she growled. "You can't. You have no understanding of the warrior code at all. What you've done here proves it."_

_ She slowly padded forward toward him. "You've risked the lives of very young kits," she hissed. "By leaving them alone here. Anything could have happened to them. They could have gotten lost." She began to raise her voice. "They could have died. My kits could have _died_!"_

_ Leafstar knew that wasn't the end of his transgressions. "But you didn't just betrayed me," she growled. "You betrayed the _entire_ Clan."_

_ She began to circle the tom. He was definitely losing his look of defiance, and fear began to emerge on his face._

_ "You did all this," Leafstar yowled, "And you never even _considered_ how it would make any of us feel." She stopped her circling. "The Clan is a family, Sol, a community. And you're incapable of thinking about anyone but yourself!"_

_ Sol's face was now mostly fear. Fear of Leafstar, fear of SkyClan, fear of what she may do to him._

_ "I banish you from SkyClan," Leafstar decided. "You've betrayed my trust, betrayed the warrior code, betrayed everything I thought you believed in."_

_ Sol transformed from fear to open defiance again. "Oh, just because you say it, that makes it so, does it?" He starts padding around Leafstar, as if preparing for battle. "Well, let me tell you a few things, Leafstar, I-"_

_ "Go ahead, Sol." He was interrupted by a large patrol of Leafstar's Clanmates. It was her deputy, Sharpclaw who cut off Sol with a menacing growl. "Tell us how things are going to be."_

_ Sol was immensely surprised. "I… I," he stammered._

_ Another cat decided to pipe up. "I'll tell you you're leaving, Sol. You're going far away, and you're never coming back."_

_ Sol lashed his tail in fury. "You're only going to be as strong as your weakest elder or your littlest cat," he hissed. "I curse all Clans for this foolishness!"_

_ SkyClan watched him leave in a fit of rage._

_ Leafstar knew they got rid of a traitor, but couldn't shake the feeling that was the last they would see of him._


	2. Magnum

"Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome."

"Are you planning to leave tomorrow?"

"Yes. I'm going to find more work."

"If we come across you again, we'll tell you where to find some."

"All right."

Finally. I was asked by these cats to track down a troublesome stray who was stealing their food. I found him in 2 days of hunting him, and after what happened when I did find him, the stray was never going to be a problem again. I obviously saved these cats from starvation, and that helps my reputation in these parts.

"Again, thanks for your help, Magnum," the lead cat, a rugged grey tom tells me.

Magnum. A strange name my father gave my before he left. I never understood his reasoning for the name, but I admit it sounds powerful.

I merely nod at him and turn around to exit the abandoned Twoleg nest they live in, feeling pride for what I've done for them.

I now stand in front of the den in the middle of Twolegplace. For the past few moons, this is where I've lived. Not by myself, but with whatever cat I'm working for. Taking one last look back at the den, I begin to set off.

The sun was beginning to set. I decide to go over some of the white fences to get to the forest behind them. The brightly colored grass and small shrubs slightly sway with the afternoon breeze. I soon happen to come to a sufficiently large one to sleep in and begin to make a sizeable enough hole to fit myself in. I preferred the soft yet firm Twoleg grass, but the dirt floor will do just fine. I get myself settled down.

XXXX

"No," I whisper to myself.

It is sunhigh, in an alley crowded with cats, with me among them. Some Twoleg rubbish was to one side of the alley, with a small black cat crouched on it. In the center of the mass of the scarred cats were 2 more toms. One, a skinny light brown, was whimpering quietly while lying on the ground slightly bloodied with teeth marks around his scruff. The other, a young and slightly gray cat with piercing blue eyes, stood over him. The grey one looks expectantly at his leader.

"Do it." The black cat commands.

The grey cat eagerly raises one paw over his hunched prey, who was now more audibly whimpering.

"No…" I breathe. I wanted to move, to intervene and save the little brown cat. But my legs wouldn't obey my commands.

In one swift motion the tom threw his outstretched claw into brown fur and belly, letting out blood.

"NO!" I scream, and all of a sudden the images of murder vanished.

I violently wake and sit up while heavily panting. I give a bewildered glance around me. I'm still in the bush-den, and the dark blue hue of moonlight still poured into where I am. Sunrise will take some time to come forth.

I shake myself to loosen my ruffled fur. These nightmares have to come to an end. I probably won't be able to sleep the rest of the night after that. Mouse dung, I could have used the sleep. Oh well…

My belly rumbles. I haven't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, and that was a measly mouse caught by one of the client cats for me. I'm going to have to go hunting, and I'm horrible at hunting. Amazingly, all my skills amount to hunting cats, but not prey. Maybe it's because I never had to hunt for myself most of my life.

I reluctantly exit the bush-den and begin to sniff around. Nothing. Maybe there'll be some in the clearing beyond Twolegplace.

I move away from the forest and toward the flats behind the edges of Twoleg territory. The ground below my feet is beginning to turn to a hard reddish-brown color, in contrast to the soft brown dirt in the forest.

I smell vole.

I'm downwind from the source, and the smell's coming from farther up front. I slow my approach and begin to cautiously proceed forward.

Up ahead, the ground seems to disappear. I spot the tiny critter along its edge, scuttling along the now-rocky terrain.

The sun's starting to rise. If I don't hurry the vole'll see me. I quicken my pace.

And that is what alerted my prey.

It takes a quick look at me before scurrying away. Dung! I pout a little bit before deciding to see why the earth ended by where the vole was.

A gasp escapes me as I stare down this… gorge. It was filled with rocks, rocky terrain, and boulders, as well as the occasional tree and grass patches. A narrow river begins its mouth in within the canyon. But while this scene beheld by the rising sun was beautiful, that wasn't the main reason why I stopped in my tracks.  
>It was the smell. It is a mixture of independent smells combined together to make one strange identity of a smell. I've always encountered something like this before, but not at this scale.<p>

There are cats, a lot of them by the smell of it, living within the gorge!


	3. Discovery

Someone has to know about the existence of these cats. A group that large could easily support my stomach; that is how I usually get my meals.

I turn back, ignoring the grumbling of my belly, and begin to head back toward Twolegplace. Time to find someone who could put me in contact with them.

It turns out I didn't have to go far. While balancing myself on one of the white wood fences bordering Twolegplace, I see a dark brown tabby fitted with a collar. But from my perch a nest away, I can already tell he was no ordinary kittypet; he moved himself with such a… self-prideful manner? That was something I see in rogues and leaders, not necessarily kittypets. They tended to walk in a blissful and carefree manner unlike this cat. Perfect for me to inquire, he's obviously seen more than his Twoleg's garden.

I stealthily hop off the fence into a bush next to it. The tabby doesn't notice me; he's too busy watching the birds on the small leafy tree in the center of the green clearing.

I could always sneak up on him, but that'll put him in a non-questionable mood. I'll just announce my presence.

I noisily exit the bush and begin to pad toward the tabby, who instantly became aware of my intrusion and began to use his amber eyes to inspect me up and down, noticing my numerous battle scars. I think I should introduce myself to open him up.

"Hi, I'm Magnum," I greet him.

"Hutch," the cat meows. "What do you want?"

How do I ask this the best way? "I noticed cats living in the gorge," I decide to answer. "I'm wondering if anyone knew about them."

His face immediately changes from wary curiosity to a look of recognition. He knew about them.

"You mean SkyClan?" he inquires.

SkyClan. Its name gives me an internal shudder. But it probably had nothing to do with the others…

"They're called SkyClan?" I ask. "Can you tell me more about them?"

Hutch seems eager to tell me plenty, from his slightly excited expression.

"SkyClan is a group of cats founded on honor," he begins. "Everyone takes mutual care of each other. Most are warriors that hunt and protect the rest of the Clan. They're headed by a leader, and is seconded by her deputy."

Not unlike other groups I've encountered. Almost everyone believes in their own little system of honor.

"There's a medicine cat that heals her Clanmates and communes with StarClan," he continues. "The leader receives 9 lives from StarClan and makes most of the Clan decisions. The deputy advises his leader and organizes patrols."

Now it's starting to sound like a load of mouse dung. 9 lives my tail. StarClan, these cats worship the stars. What is it with stars and cats?

"The Clan's queens and elders are fed first," Hutch says, noticing my look of disbelief in his StarClan. "The apprentices- the warriors in training- take specific care to them. The Clan doesn't believe in unjust killing and has a code of conduct."

This is news to me. A sense of honor in what they work for. It sounds almost idealistic to me, my inner realism tells me it can't be as smooth as he says it is. "How do you know so much about them?" I inquire.

He puffs out his slightly muscular chest. "Because," he answers, "I was once one of them."

Hm. Explains the confident posture I noticed earlier.

Hutch's eyes turn into a questioning stare. "Why do you want to know about them? Are you thinking about joining?"

No offense, but I've had a bad experience about becoming a member of something. "No, I was just wondering if I could do any work for them. It's how I earn my catch, if you know what I mean." Never mind I can barely support myself without others feeding me.

"Work?" Hutch looks temporarily confused before clearing his head. "I'll have to talk to them. No promises, but maybe there'll be something for you."

I dip my head to him. "Thanks for putting me in contact with them," I merely say as I turn and begin to climb the fence to outside Twolegplace.

"Come back tomorrow at sunhigh," he calls after me.

I return to the forest to scent more prey. My belly is started to rumble continuously now.

SkyClan. Sounds like a highly complex society. If the tabby was correct in them having a developed sense of honor, then it should be relatively easy to work with them, especially if there aren't any rifts within the Clan. If there is, well then… I've dealt with that too before, but not in favor to the one who offers me the most prey. In those cases I decided myself who was worth helping.

I need to clear my head and focus on hunting. I smell a sparrow.

XXXX

Hutch watched the grey tom leave his housefolk's garden with his staring amber eyes, pondering on what he was going to tell Leafstar about him. He was obviously a rogue that had seen plenty of action, based on the numerous markings on his pelt. But there was something else. His penetrating blue eyes held a look of intelligence, and… something else he couldn't decipher. Magnum wanted what he called 'work', but didn't seem interested in joining SkyClan.

The dawn patrol should reach by near Twolegplace soon. Hutch left the garden and began to pad toward where he would meet them. He'd tell them about him and ask to pass it on their leader.

Magnum. The name sounded vaguely familiar, he thought he heard something about him as news from his neighbors. Perhaps after he checked in with the patrol, he'd try to find out who this mysterious cat really is.

_And maybe ask some of the daylight warriors to see if they knew anything_, he thought.

Magnum obviously looked dangerous, but Hutch couldn't help but think there was more to the rogue.


	4. Uneasy Escort

I'm sitting under a tree to be shadowed from the glow of dawn. I continue to munch on my squirrel I caught while I continue to think about how SkyClan will react to me. Will they greet me warmly? Take caution when seeing me? Or downright refuse me? Probably not the first, they don't sound desperate to make new friends. So how will it go?

This squirrel is delicious, I think to myself as I finish my little meal. I was a little lucky to get it; the creature was preoccupied with searching for nuts on the forest ground while I creeped up on it. It never heard me as I snapped its neck with my rather powerful jaws. It' also nice to not constantly hear a belly rumble.

I look up. Sunhigh will take a bit of time, so I'll still have to wait a little bit before rendezvousing with Hutch and SkyClan by his Twoleg's den. Then again, maybe I could scout out the area and watch to see the nature of SkyClan. Yes, that's what I'll do.

I pause for a second to bury the squirrel remains before I begin to walk to my destination.

As I near the Twolegplace border, I slow my pace. No need to wait too long waiting for sunhigh. I learned that a moons ago while waiting to ambush a cat terrorizing a couple kittypets. Waiting bores me, forces me to overthink the plain details of a situation. I was so deep in thought I almost missed my ambush target.

I'm now balancing on the fences near Hutch's place. I go around it so I would be downwind from the back garden and become undetectable. I then jump down and settle myself within another shrub by the fence.

I don't have to wait long. I see Hutch exit the Twoleg nest via a flap and calmly pace around the center tree. Soon after he stops and sniffs the air just as I smell more scents. 2 more cats by the smell of it, they match the SkyClan scents I smelled before.

These 2 cats hop over the fence with ease, surprising me. I haven't seen cats jump that high before.

"Hello, Hutch," the older one, a muscular dark ginger tom with green eyes greets.

"Glad you could make it," Hutch replies. "What does Leafstar say?"

Leafstar. The name and the Clan sound familiar, but where?

"It took a little convincing to get her to agree to see this cat," the younger tortoiseshell and white she-cat meows. She also has green eyes. "We know nothing of this Magnum, and she isn't comfortable with bringing him to the camp."

You know nothing about me because reputations prove to be quite troublesome. It's usually better to have a reputation on a job-by-job basis, so no one cat could ever decipher the whole me.

"Speaking of which, you'd say you would try to find more about him," the tom speaks.

"Yes, I did," Hutch replies. "But the information isn't coherent. Some said he's a fox-hearted murderer who'd kill cats in their sleep. Others reported him as a hero that saved their lives."

Fox hearted murderer who'd kill cats in their sleep? The sleep one was _one time_. Besides, I stopped my murderous tendencies seasons ago.

"So my guess is he's a mercenary of sorts, a vigilante," Hutch continues.

The she-cat gave a look of disgust. "It sounds like I wouldn't want to share a den with him then." She turns to the older tom. "What did Leafstar say to you, Sharpclaw?"

Sharpclaw. The name fitted him; he looks like he's seen almost as much battle as I have.

"She asked me what I would do if I were her. I said it was worth at least talking to the rogue," he replies before turning to Hutch. "Are you sure he'll come?"

Hutch waits a second to answer. "He sounded like a cat of his word, from what I heard. He'll come."

Perhaps now is the time to announce myself, I loudly exit from the shrub and pad toward them.

"Yes, I am a cat of my word," I say. The she-cat instantly became nervous. I was expecting that. Perhaps a little humor would call them down.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you in your sleep," I add.

All three cats freeze. "How long have you been watching us?" Sharpclaw asks me.

This is the most fun I've had in moons. I feel like laughing, but I keep my neutral face. Only a twitch of my whiskers betrays my thoughts. "'Hello Hutch, it took some convincing Leafstar to see this cat,'" I mimic.

Sharpclaw's eyes flash for a second before relaxing. He shares a glance with the she-cat before addressing me. "Our leader wants to see you," he curtly meows. "Cherrytail and I have been ordered to escort you to the SkyClan camp."

So the tortoiseshell's name is Cherrytail. It sounds like SkyClan has its own naming system unlike the Twolegplace names, with 2 names rolled into one.

I resign myself to them. "Alright," I tell them. "Lead the way."

Without a word Sharpclaw and Cherrytail turn around and hop over the fence with relative ease. I can't do that, so I have to scramble on the beams to catch up.

Now outside Twolegplace, I run a little faster to catch up with them before falling in place, matching my pawsteps with theirs. Their brisk pace is pretty fast, so I'm guessing they want to get me to their camp as soon as possible.

We reach the edge of the sandy gorge a little past sunhigh. Here Sharpclaw stops and turns to me.

"Watch where we land our paws," he instructs me. "It's a long way down." He then promptly begins to jump down onto certain rocky surfaces, with Cherrytail and I watching.

"Well?" Cherrytail addresses me. "Are you going to go?"

I glance at her before I follow Sharpclaw down the side of the gorge. She obviously doesn't like me. Or maybe the prospect of being alone with me at the top unsettles her greatly. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened.

Sharpclaw waits for me at the bottom as I put perhaps too much effort in my jumping. I think I cut my paw pad somewhere in between, but I'm not going to look right now; I have to appear strong. I turn around in time to witness Cherrytail expertly navigate toward us down the side. I think she's purposely making fun of my downwards approach.

"You OK?" Sharpclaw asks. It wasn't addressed to me.

Cherrytail nods. Sharpclaw then continues down a direction leading to the camp and we follow.

The smell I associate with SkyClan gets stronger in my nose; we must be near the camp.

I hopped down one more rock before I saw movement by the formations.

We had reached the SkyClan camp.


	5. Leafstar and SkyClan

Sharpclaw and Cherrytail tell me to wait by what they call the Rockpile, so aptly named. They touch noses before Sharpclaw goes to a rock- wait, those are _dens_- and Cherrytail disappears to the other end of the camp.

The other cats here are eyeing me. I don't know if I should return their stares or pretend they aren't. That actually got me in trouble with some cats once.

There's a small pile of fresh-kill, mainly birds, under the Rockpile, but I don't think about taking something. Instead, I sit down and decide to watch the scene around me.

At least half a dozen cats are situated around me, eating some prey or sharing tongues while giving occasional looks at me. I notice a small group of 3 cats return with more prey in their jaws, moving toward the pile to deposit their kills. A pair of kits play-wrestle each other on a particularly sandy portion of the camp. A silver tabby carries some moss out of her cave-den, taking a moment to gaze at me as she continues with her load.

This truly appears to be a functioning order of cats. Perhaps I may be wrong about criticizing it.

I intently watch the prey-carrying cats as they carefully place their load on top of the fresh-kill. One of them captures my attention; she's wearing a Twoleg collar.

Kittypets roam this place as well? I knew Hutch was one of SkyClan's former warriors, but now I think maybe he was integrated in both Clan life and the life of a kittypet. How does this even work exactly?

"Hi there!"

I'm jolted out of my deep thoughts. A smaller gray-and-ginger she-cat is staring at me with a look of friendliness in her light blue eyes.

"Um, hello, youngster," I reply. "Who might you be?"

I can sense some of the nearby warriors beginning to tune in to my conversation. Apparently I air a sense of unease in the camp, unknown to my acquaintance.

"I'm Stormpaw!" She replies with a glisten in her eyes. Her energy reminds me of someone in my past…

"What's your name?" She asks me.

I open my mouth to answer, but all of a sudden Sharpclaw comes back with another cat. "His names Magnum," he answers. "Aren't you supposed to be training with Firepaw in the Sandy Hollow?"

"Sorry," she mews as she rushes by us to supposedly meet with the other cat.

She must be an apprentice. The –paw suffix can't be a coincidence.

I turn to Sharpclaw's companion. She's a brown-and-cream tabby with thoughtful amber eyes.

"I'm Leafstar," she greets me. "Welcome to SkyClan."

Her tone was polite, but her eyes betray her anxiety. Wow, are all the warriors unsettled by my presence?

I dip my head to return the politeness. "I'm Magnum," I tell her. "You wanted to see me?"

Leafstar sighs. I can tell she's made some internal decision, and apparently Sharpclaw notices too, because his eyes flash with resignation. He really didn't want me here.

"I think we should discuss this in private," Leafstar finally answers. "Come with me to my den and we'll talk there. You too, Sharpclaw," she adds.

We look at Sharpclaw, who was tracking Cherrytail talking to two apprentices. Or was he looking at the two youngsters? He realizes what Leafstar just instructed and turns his head to follow her. I do the same.

We enter a small rock-den. The shade gives off shadows to the end of the den, where a small pile of used moss lay. This must be Leafstar's den.

"So why exactly are you here?" she asks me.

I shrug. Food, something to do, a place to sleep. I can't support myself on hunting alone. I enjoy using my expertise. I like the danger and variance in my life. I like to help cats solve their problems.

Redemption.

"I solve cats' problems for food," I decide to respond after a moment. "It's how I live from day to day." It was such a simple statement that didn't explain my personal reasons.

Leafstar takes this in for a second. She looks at Sharpclaw, who nods at her, then turns to me.

"Well," she begins, "It just so happens we need you track down someone."

Sounds simple enough. It probably had a small catch, but nothing I can't handle.

"There was a cat named Sol who used to live with us," she continues, "at one point we welcomed him to be part of one of my own. I even _named_ one of my kits after him."

I sense a feeling of hate beginning to surface inside her.

"He stole kits, _my_ kits, and hid them away from SkyClan," she growls. "We found them, and banished Sol from our hunting grounds ever since."

"Not that he was useful or anything," Sharpclaw adds. "The mange-pelt was always finding excuses not to work."

"But he mentioned seeking revenge," Leafstar tells me. "He said something about making Clan cats pay for rejecting him. I originally thought it was futile last words, but then…" she trails off.

Sharpclaw decides to pick up where she left off. "There are other Clans," he murmurs. "Sol may have intentions to punish them for what happened here."

Other Clans? Oh wait…

Suddenly the dark enclosed den I am in disappears, and is replaced by a forest. Groups of cats are watching 3 figures in the center, by a cluster of 4 trees. One, a dark tabby, was gurgling out his life by his sliced belly. A ginger cat and the black cat are watching.

Soon the tabby stopped with one last twitch. The flamed tom now looks toward the other.

"Sorry about being led here by Tigerstar's lies and deceit," he announces. "Feel free to hunt in the forest before you leave."

The black tom started to laugh.

"Magnum?"

The forest and its inhabitants went away, and I'm back in Leafstar's den. The leader and her warrior were gazing intently at my face. What to say…

"I know where the other Clans are located," I answer to avoid embarrassment.

Leafstar nods her head. "I can't help but feel that Sol will try to deal with them. On his own, he's not dangerous."

"Sol can't fight and probably still can't hunt properly," Sharpclaw adds.

Way to jab your paw at me, mouse brain. At least I earn my keep.

"So what's the danger?" I ask.

Leafstar sighs. "He very charismatic," she meows. "He has a… tendency to draw people to fulfill his desires. My guess is he could make the Clans destroy themselves under his guidance."

I hate those types. At least my former leader still did the dirty work from time to time up until his death. Sol sounds to me like an instigator and a manipulative. I do the same things, but it helps cats when I do it. He's nothing but trouble.

"What does he look like?" I inquire. Probably not important if he already reached them.

"He's a mottled tom with ginger patches," Sharpclaw answers.

He'll stick out like a Twoleg in the forest.

"I'll begin to search first thing tomorrow," I say.

Leafstar looks troubled. "I don't believe in killing without just cause," she tells me, "I'd rather have him driven away with the truth. But if you do find him, just… make sure he doesn't attack the other Clans."

An idealist. Hopefully I won't have to kill him if it came to that. I really don't want to kill anymore.

"Fetch Rabbitleap," Leafstar orders Sharpclaw. He dips his head and quickly exits.

"I'm sending an extra warrior with you just in case," she tells me. "If you do come across the Clans, talk to Firestar or Sandstorm. They'll know about us; warn them about Sol."

You're sending the extra warrior to make sure Sol doesn't die under my battle-scarred claws. But then again, I could use an extra body.

So the ginger leader at the forest was named Firestar. Suiting.

"Sharpclaw mentioned to you about what I want from you, correct?" I innocently ask.

Leafstar's sighs are getting more audible. "Take what you wish from the fresh-kill pile," she tells me reluctantly. I can tell she doesn't like handing her food to strangers. I don't blame her.


	6. Reflection

Hey guys, I know I just started my story. I promise more will come as time progresses. Currently I could post a chapter per day or two, but that's subject to change.

This chapter explores Magnum a little more than the vague details you had to pull out yourself to get an image of his character.

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I love rabbit. It's my favorite meal.

I'm by the Rockpile during sundown, chewing on a small plump rabbit that was on the top of the fresh-kill pile. I can tell some of the nearby warriors aren't too happy on my choice- one is silently seething; I bet she caught my supper.

I see Leafstar emerge from her den with a light brown tom in tow; he must be the legendary Rabbitleap. She looks around a bit before spotting me, and whispers into his ear. He nods and begins to pad over to me, while Leafstar heads to the top of one of the boulders farther away from me to sit and watch. I gulp my piece of prey down and await his arrival.

He finally reaches me. "Hey," he says. "I'm Rabbitleap."

He's anxious, but not in the way I've seen in most of the warriors around me. I don't think he's easy to intimidate.

"So you're Leafstar's representative on this mission?" I ask.

His ears twitch. I can't tell whether that's from amusement or irritation. "You could say that," he replies. He sits down next to me and lowers his voice. "That rabbit was going to feed the elders."

Whoops. No wonder why everyone's giving me the angry face.

"And now this rabbit is going to feed me," I retort, and take another bite for spite.

My whiskers twitch with amusement as he gives a snort.

"Normally visiting cats have to hunt for the Clan as well," he continues.

Can't you see I'm a special case? It doesn't take a genius to figure out one doesn't just lead perhaps the most dangerous cat ever in the middle of their camp without a good reason.

"I'm not a good hunter," I tell the young warrior. "I run odd jobs like this for food." I take another bite to show my point.

A few moments pass before his orange eyes betray his next statement. "I've heard you kill cats for food, too."

At this I stare intently into his sockets. Not this question again.

"Listen here, _warrior_," I growl quietly, "I _used_ to kill cats for food. All the stories about me killing were from one point of my life, okay? Any piece of fox dung worth a mouse tail would tell you no cat had ever died from my claw after that point."

I can feel my blood beginning to boil. I need to calm down before this gets out of hand. I take the rabbit remains into my jaws and begin to pad out with them to bury. I can feel Rabbitleap's eyes trail after me as I quietly storm out.

After I go a small distance, I bury the bunny bones and gulp in some fresh air to cool off. Twilight in nigh. My head cleared, I pad back to the camp.

I see Rabbitleap talking with Sharpclaw. I decide to approach. They both shush and turn to me.

"Where will I sleep?" I inquire.

The scarred tom looks at his younger counterpart. "Go get some sleep," he advises. "You have a long day tomorrow."

Rabbitleap dips his head and bounds away. The younger one gone, Sharpclaw turns to me.

"We have a couple of unused dens near the camp. You'll have to go get your own moss, though," he tells me. "Go see Echosong's den. She has some extra moss in there." He pauses. "Actually, I'll come with you, so you don't get _lost_."

Well then, that was a little scathing. I'm tempted to decline the offer of moss, but then I think better of it. I don't want to be stiff tomorrow.

"Alright," I say. "Lead, then."

Sharpclaw maintains eye contact for another moment before setting off to the left of me. I follow behind him.

He head to a den that smells like a collection of various plants. I can't identify most of them, but I do know marigold is among them. It also smells like 2 cats use the den, but aren't here right now.

"Check by the entrance," he gruffly instructs me.

I comply and find a pile of fresh moss by the rock entrance.

Where do they find moss in this gorge? I doubt they venture into the forest to get some.

I pick up a mouthful and exit to face the dark ginger tom. He points his face vaguely in a direction and starts walking there. I follow.

We reach another den, smaller than the herb den. I can smell it's vacant and has never been used. The sun's completely set now and I can see the half-moon out of the corner of my eye.

"See you tomorrow," he tells me as he pads away.

I place the moss and settle down.

XXXX

Leafstar walked to Nettlesplash at the top of the Skyrock as the moon was rising.

"You can go to your den," she told the light brown tom. "I'll take guard duty tonight."

His eyes flashed with a look of understanding before climbing down to get some sleep.

She sat down at wandered her eyes to where Magnum was sleeping. _Am I making the right choice_, she wondered. _Is sending a rogue to do Clan work against the code?_

She wished Echosong was here to give her reassurance, to tell her what was the right decision. She wished Firestar was here to let her know what was best for the Clan.

But Echosong took her apprentice to the Whispering Cave, because it is the half-moon. And Firestar's gone back to his own Clan.

Sharpclaw opposed her decision to allow him within the confines of SkyClan. What if he was right, and this Magnum was nothing but trouble?

He was said to be, at least from her daylight-warriors and Hutch, he was a great fighter and tactician. He seemed to know more ways to defeat an opponent than by a straight up fight.

_So he fights dirty_.

But that's not entirely true. They said they never heard from Magnum's target after they encounter each other. But they never heard any outright reports of murder.

_That shouldn't mean anything_, Leafstar thought. _Anyone can just hide a corpse._

They also said he accepts payment in food. He'll usually take what they offer, and doesn't always go to the strongest force of cats for work. He assisted in multiple power struggles, but laid no stake in leadership.

_Why is this?_

"Can't sleep, huh?"

Leafstar jolted upright and whirled around. It was Billystorm.

"You can't just sneak up behind me like that," she protested. "I'm a little on edge right now."

Billystorm padded beside her and pressed his flank against hers.

"It's about Magnum, right?"

Leafstar sighed. She didn't know what to think of her grey-furred visitor. She was seriously reconsidering allotting a warrior to take with him. She was reconsidering why she allowed him in camp at all.

_Great StarClan, what do I do?_

Billystorm decided to speak up. "I talked with Rabbitleap. He says Magnum claimed to stop killing a long time ago." He stopped for a second. "Do you think he's telling the truth?"

"I don't know what to think," Leafstar replied. "This whole thing I've not known what to think. He's made it clear he doesn't want to be a warrior."

Which was almost a shame. He looked like SkyClan material. Why does he live the life of a rogue?

_The life of a warrior isn't for everyone_, Leafstar thought.

Especially for Sol.

Leafstar laid down on the Skyrock next to Billystorm and continued to watch over the camp.

Why is she sending a rogue after a rogue? Just because SkyClan wasn't a fighting force for the highest bidder doesn't mean she should use others to do their dirty work.

"There's no simple answer, is there?" Leafstar wandered out loud.


	7. First Steps

Another Chapter. It's a little shorter than the others but I really can't add anything more to this part. I promise, we're getting close to an encouter.

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A ray of sunshine warms my pelt. I decide to open my eyes, and see it is indeed sunrise. I get up into a sitting position and shake off the moss in my fur.

No nightmares this time. I'm surprised. I guess moss bedding does the trick with my mind.

At that thought I suddenly remember why I'm here. Take Rabbitleap, find Sol, stop him before he gets to the Clans.

I'm feeling a little hungry too. I decide to see what's left on the fresh-kill pile.

I stretch and begin to make my way to the SkyClan interior of the camp through the rocky terrain. I notice the camp is already buzzing with life. Two groups of cats, including Stormpaw, are setting off in different directions out of the camp. She glances at me with a sparkle in her eyes before continuing out.

That was weird.

I see the Rockpile and continue to go towards it. Beside it are a couple of leftovers, including a large mouse. Another cat goes to it and picks out a blackbird before noticing me. He steps out of the way with some irritation in his eyes as I pick up the mouse and carry it to the edge of the center. As I begin to chew on the meat, I watch Rabbitleap emerge from the large rock-den with a yawn on his face. He notices where I am and begins to head toward me.

Showtime. I would offer him their mouse if I could hunt a little better.

"Morning," I tell him as he watches me gulp down another piece of mouse.

He obviously doesn't like seeing me with another piece of food in between my paws. I notice he's lean, but not really plump. Something tells me SkyClan doesn't usually eat breakfast.

"When are we leaving?" the brown-furred warrior inquires me.

Well, I'm not going to interrupt my snack just to ease your mind. "When I'm finished with my mouse," I reply. I shove what's left of the mouse to him. "Want some?"

I wasn't planning to share; that was a subconscious decision. I can't believe I surprised myself.

"Thanks, but I ate last night," he tells me.

I can see he changes his mind after I take a rather generous bite from the mouse. He glances over to where Sharpclaw is standing by the Skyrock before gobbling the remains. My whiskers twitch.

"Since you're the one eating," I decide to say, "Are _you_ ready to go?"

Well played, Magnum.

He looks at me with a sigh of exasperation. He knows he lost.

"Hang on," he tells me defeatedly as he scrapes sand and dirt over what's left of the carcass.

We pad over to Sharpclaw.

"We'll be leaving now," I announce.

Sharpclaw gives Rabbitleap a look of worry. "May StarClan light your path," he murmurs.

That wasn't a general blessing. Sharpclaw meant it specifically to my companion. He must be _really_ worried about his warriors.

"Tell Leafstar thanks for the food," I add, just to see his reaction.

I can tell he's actively trying to suppress his feelings. He turns away and heads to the main part of the camp.

"Let's go," I instruct Rabbitleap, and we begin to make our way up the gorge.

It's silence as we make our way from ledge to ledge to the top. Rabbitleap is in the lead, and looks like the steps are second nature to him as I try to keep up.

Well, I guess that's to be expected. I'm willing to bet SkyClan frequents near Twolegplace. How else would they entice kittypets to live alongside them in the gorge?

He waits for me as I clear the last jump.

"Where to now?" he asks me.

Oh, yeah. I forgot he doesn't know where the Clans are.

I used to live on the side of Twolegplace by where the Clans resided, within the stink of monsters and the piles of Twoleg rubbish. A long ago, however, I decided to leave the area and head deeper into Twolegplace. Moons and jobs later, I finally became familiar with major parts of the labyrinth of nests and monsterpaths. Moons after that, I learned this end of Twoleg territory, by the forest. I'm surprised I never found the gorge sooner.

Didn't the stream from the gorge lead to the river by Clan forest too? Too late for that.

"We're heading into Twolegplace," I tell him. "It's huge. I don't know if you ever bothered to explore it but it isn't something we can transverse within a day or two." Huge is an understatement, I think. "The Clans should be on the other side."

And that's where Sol will go.

"Sol'll probably attempt to go through Twolegplace," I continue. "He doesn't sound like a cat that can survive in the wild on his own. If I were him, I'd find shelter in a cat-dense area." That's what I _have_ done.

I see Rabbitleap give a look of slight astonishment. I think he was under the impression I was just a claw-for-hire, not a thinker.

"So we ask these cats to point out where he went?" Rabbitleap asks.

Yes, but I doubt we'll be close on Sol's heels.

"If we have any luck at all, we could track where he's headed and beat him to it," I offer. "The whole point is to catch up, not memorize his history."

I half-expect him to become irritated at my last comment, but the tom is a little deep in thought. He looks up and asks me a question. "You're from Twolegplace, Magnum. Know any cats hospitable enough to shelter a loner mange-pelt?"

I smile on the inside. Rabbitleap could also think. Maybe he isn't as annoying as I thought he would be.

"As a matter of fact, I do," I reply. "There's a small group of cats living in a shed by a Twoleg nest. They had problems with a gang before I drove them out."

Fun times. The gang used to rattle the small and flimsy Twoleg structure, terrorizing all who were in it. Every time one would venture out, they would get mauled to unconsciousness. I managed to scare them away by freeing a pair of dogs from their leashes and making it appear as if they were under my command and ready to fight.

"They're in a rather inconspicuous place, but it's a start," I mention.

Rabbitleap nods his head. "Take us there." He looks he could be ready for anything.

You may have to.

We get up and head toward Twolegplace.


	8. Encounter

I can already tell Rabbitleap isn't really used to venturing within Twolegplace. He loses bearings constantly, and often looks at me for guidance. He gets unnecessarily nervous whenever we cross monsterpaths, often taking too long to check both ways before he crosses.

"The monsters are usually gone or asleep this time of day," I had assured him earlier.

I guess wild cats wouldn't know monster patterns like I do. Not to mention maybe he doesn't trust me.

But it doesn't stop there. I can scent fairly obvious things that he can't get a whiff of. His hearing seems to have dulled in this noisy place. In essence, he's following me like a kit clinging to his mother.

Must be because the scents are much clearer in the gorge, I think. There's simply too much smells in Twolegplace for him to sort out.

"How far are we?" the warrior asks me as we pad alongside the Twoleg paths. He seems to be not enjoying the stench and noise of Twolegplace, although to his credit I haven't smelled any fear off him.

We're really close. Just a monsterpath away…

"We're almost there," I tell him. "See across the monsterpath? It's behind the second nest to the left."

The problem is that the monsterpath ahead of us is particularly wide. Not much of a problem now, but it populates quick with monsters around sunrise and sunset.

I doubt Rabbitleap has such reassurance.

We get to the edge and I can see his nose wrinkle from the scent of monsters.

"You ready?" I ask him. I see no monsters coming this way.

Rabbitleap anxiously looks both ways before answering. "Let's get this over with. One, two, three, GO!"

We dart over the monsterpath to the other side. The sharp black stones feel like tiny jutted rocks on my paws. We get to the other side just as I hear another monster going on the path.

Rabbitleap shakes himself. "Second nest on the left?" he inquires.

I can see he'd much rather be with more cats than just me. Sorry I'm not your type of company.

"Yeah," I answer.

We continue on our way until we are in front of the Twoleg nest. It's old and the red rocks are slowly crumbling, with overgrown grass strewn in the front-garden.

I personally think that there's an unnatural quality with Twoleg grass. It's too even, too tightly packed to be done naturally. I wonder what the Twolegs do to it.

"The shed's in the back," I say.

There's no fence separating the front and back-gardens, however a bunch of junk stands in the way. I climb it first, with Rabbitleap in tow.

It's when I get up there when I take a whiff of cat scent.

Something's wrong.

"Stay where you are," I sternly instruct Rabbitleap, who is now beside me taking in scents to his nostrils.

When I stayed here, the group of cats had a distinctive smell from the others. This isn't the same scent.

Even worse, I know who replaced the cats in the shed.

"Fox dung," I curse myself as a group of 4 cats emerge out and notice us. They don't look too happy seeing my and Rabbitleap sitting on some rubbish just outside their lair.

The warrior notices my reactions. "What's wrong?" he whispers.

Everything. These cats aren't my friends. I thought I drove them out a long time ago from Twolegplace. Instead they seemed to have taken on a new group, and drove out who was friendly to me from the shed.

"Someone's replaced our friendly neighbors," I murmur, half to myself.

I recognize two of them. Both are toms, and the leader is a shaggy dark-gray cat with light brown distrusting eyes. His friend is a rather muscular battle-worn white tabby beholding killer black eyes. The other two are ginger she-cats that look rather alike.

The four take positions around our rubble. The shaggy one decides to speak.

"Magnum!" he greets with a pronounced accent. "Some nerve you have coming here, after what you did to us!"

Some nerve you have, driving cats out of their own home.

"I thought you said you'd leave Twolegplace forever, Travis," I shout back. "You know I hate to do things a second time!"

The white cat gurgles a deep growl, his eyes revealing murder. His head raised, I can clearly see the neck scars that destroyed his ability to speak. Not my fault, he was like that when I met him in battle.

"Well, glug, glug, glug to you too, Scorch!" I taunt.

Rabbitleap has been motionless this whole time. I can see him sizing up our opponents. He really isn't all that fazed by being outnumbered two to one.

I need to keep this conversation going. The more time they talk the better chance we can escape.

"And who is your new crew?" I innocently ask. "I guess I scared away your previous group!"

The she-cats exchange a look. They look a little menacing, but appear to be half starved. Travis and Scorch have full bellies.

"I told them I needed revenge on a certain rogue," Travis calls back. "Told them they would be rewarded greatly for aiding my… cause."

Rewarded greatly my tail. That's not what your deserters told me.

Rabbitleap leans over to me. "If we could ditch the gingers, we could have a fair fight." He whispers in my ear.

So he sees the weaker spirits of the she-cats, too. You are pretty smart for a wildcat. However…

"The whole point of winning a fight is to make it as unfair as possible," I mention back. "Maybe it's different in your Clan, where you fight on your lands, by your camp, close to medicine supplies and a place to rest."

You could afford fair fights in SkyClan territory. Here we can't.

"We're in enemy territory, away from anything familiar, with uncertain food supplies, and we don't even know where we can sleep for the night. We can't afford a fair fight."

There's a reason cats call it a fair fight: You don't know who may win. It's an even chance. And even then, the winner may have extensive wounds to manage. Turning the odds in my favor is a philosophy I grew up with; completely turning the tide is a skill I slowly learned.

I think I get through to Rabbitleap's head. "What do we do now?" he asks.

I look at the Twoleg nest. It's been clear of Twolegs for at least a couple moons, although I never personally checked to see.

Travis and his henchmen slowly advance toward the base of the rubble. Time to make a decision.

Maybe visiting the nest doesn't seem like a bad idea now... "Time to retreat," I hiss. "Into the nest, now!"

The warrior and I hop back to the bottom of the rubble and begin to sprint around the nest, trying to find a way in. I can hear the shrill battle cries from Travis and the gingers as they begin pursuit.

Rabbitleap is faster than I am, and runs ahead of me while darting his eyes toward the neglected structure. Our pursuers aren't catching up, but we aren't losing them, either.

"Opening, by the side!" he yells to me.

I look toward the nest. This opening's bottom is a couple fox-lengths above us, but it's open.

"Jump in it!" I yell.

Rabbitleap speed up and easily clears the opening. I attempt to do the same but only manage to cling my paws to the edge.

"Rabbitleap!" I shrill.

Fortunately he's standing on the opening's ledge and sees me. Unfortunately, I turn my head around and see Scorch galloping towards me, his mouth slightly foaming.

Fox dung!

"Hang on!"

Rabbitleap takes my scruff in his jaws and we tumble off the ledge onto the nest's floor. I can hear Scorch attempt to jump into the nest, but I instead hear a slightly satisfying _thunk_ of cat landing on grass.

We get up, panting, and study our surroundings. Old Twoleg sleeping platforms sit by the sides of the room. The walls themselves are a faded blue hue.

The stench of death enters my nostrils, and my face wrinkles.

"Smell that?" I ask him. His face says it all. I notice Rabbitleap appears ill at ease within the confines of the nest. Probably because it's a little closed in.

We enter the kitchen, or at least that's what I think. The first thing I see is an elderly Twoleg slumped over on the, um… table?

"He's dead," Rabbitleap gasps. He appears distressed about it.

And so am I. Everything I've seen alive I've seen dead, except sheep and Twolegs. This stench from the deceased two-legged creature takes Twolegs off my list. Not that I wanted to see a dead one, but I do keep a record.

"We almost despise Twolegs, but not like this…" Rabbitleap trails off.

So that's where the stench of death is coming from. How'd he die? Sickness?

Not important right now.

My curiosity now aside, I begin to think about how to deal with our angry adversaries outside.

Rabbitleap turns to me. "Now what?" he inquires.


	9. Storytime

Hey, everyone! I had extra time on my hands today (it's Friday) so I decided to work a little more on my story by including a second chapter. This should be a fun read, it provides insight on Magnum and his angry... friends.

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I jump onto the counter and begin opening the storage flaps.

"So how do you know this Travis?" Rabbitleap calls while he checks on our friends outside the opening.

Where do I start? I open another flap.

"Travis was, and apparently still is, the leader of a troublesome gang," I answer back. "I first encountered him on a job a few moons back."

Inside is some shiny flat discs with curved edges. Nothing useful here.

I hear Rabbitleap give a hiss presumably to a cat by the bottom on the opening. "Anything to do with who you were looking for?" he calls.

"Try to close the opening," I suggest. "But to answer your question, they didn't have any connection with the shed cats; that's another story altogether. Nah, they used to raid this other group for food." I stop to get my head out of the storage place and close the flap with my arched paw. "When I first got there, my client cats were half-starved and couldn't offer me food as payment. My work didn't pay off till days after I drove them away."

I hear the scratching of claws on rock outside. Someone's trying to get in by climbing.

"Wait, you helped cats despite them not being able feed you?" Rabbitleap asks me before he gives out a menacing hiss. The rock scratching noises cease, and I hear another _thunk_ of fallen cat.

Yes Rabbitleap. Once in a while my consciousness sets in.

"Have you ever considered I don't always do it for the food?" I call back as I search this flap container.

A moment passes. I hear a collision of wood on wood. Rabbitleap must have closed the opening.

"So why exactly does he have a personal vengeance directed at you?" he asks as he strolls in the kitchen, deliberately avoiding looking at our dead Twoleg.

Well, mousebrain, to start I stopped him from stealing food for himself. And I drove him away or so I thought.

"What do you think?" I sarcastically answer. I open another container. Nothing. I close it.

"But what did you actually do to them?" he persists.

Well, the type of things that would usually set cats off. For example, a one-sided conflict.

"I began to scare them away, using some Twoleg stuff to my advantage," I answer him. "There was this light device that, positioned carefully, gave the appearance of a larger cat that I actually am. That took care of one rather faint-hearted individual."

That was hilarious. At night I put myself in places where they could see me as a shadow figure, but not where they could reach me.

"Travis and Scorch were hard to get to. However, their other companion took something less than a show of force," I add.

I begin to check the next container.

Bingo! I see something I can use inside. It's a magpie-sized container with several little white pebbles inside. I tentatively put it in my mouth and jump down to the square-tiled floor. I drop it in front of Rabbitleap.

"What's that?" he asks.

Magic, I want to say.

"This was how I dissuaded their companion," I answer. "These things are tasteless and odorless, and disintegrate easily. I laced the inside of some Twoleg leftovers with this stuff."

I first found out their use when a small kit inside another Twoleg nest decided to lap up a pebble that spilled on the floor. She immediately became sleepy and remained so for another day, much to her parents' distress. I cleaned the pebbles up so she wouldn't come in contact with them again, to ease their minds. Poor kit, those sleep-pebbles were powerful.

"He became really sleepy and disoriented by the time I finally decided to face him," I continue. "He was easy to subdue and convince him his condition was out of guilt. I think he saw me as his ancestor or something. The next day, I heard he left Travis forever."

The mental struggle can be as powerful as the physical one. I considered that a permanent victory because he stopped his thieving ways and became a kittypet, instead of just causing more trouble elsewhere.

"That just left Scorch," I say. "He was a true believer, permanently bound to Travis. I think his soulless mind _enjoyed_ the taking of the food. He nearly ripped one of my clients apart before I could intervene."

That wasn't fun. Scorch is an excellent fighter, and I could do little more than hold him back while the cat managed to escape his grasp. I still have the scars to prove it.

"Did you cut out his throat?" Rabbitleap asks, intently listening to me.

Nice assumption, but I hate to leave permanent wounds. It's just not in my nature to do so.

I shake my head. "No. Apparently he survived a killer blow from an opponent once who slashed his throat. The wound closed itself before he bled out."

Now he can only communicate with a deep-throated gurgle, and his claws. Not that I could imagine him in intelligent conversation outside of killing something, but still.

Rabbitleap looks a little relieved. I guess he was worried I might tear out his throat, too.

"I had to face Travis and Scorch together," I tell the brown-furred warrior. "Travis was more of a leader than a fighter. I could face him head on. It was Scorch that worried me." Travis is really just a street-urchin that decided to boss around other cats to get things done. I don't think he ever received kindness from anybody. Scorch is just Scorch; I don't think his wound caused a personality change in him.

"What did you do?" Rabbitleap wonders. He knows by now I don't like to face opponents without help of some kind.

Tactical planning, Rabbitleap. Tactical planning.

"I used the Twoleg rubble to my advantage," I finally say. "I rearranged it in such a way that it would land on them and crush them, but not kill them."

The non-lethality was really just a bonus. But I don't like to kill, at least not anymore.

"I then proceeded to slash at their bodies until they were in too poor a condition to provide any resistance. I forced them to promise never to come back there again." My whiskers twitch at my last statement.

I see Rabbitleap widen his eyes when I mentioned the slashing. He isn't as happy with my explanation. "What would you have done?" I decide to inquire him.

He takes a few moments to think up his answer. I hear the angry yowling of Travis outside.

"I would have gathered my fellow Clanmates to flank and terrify them into submission," he finally answers. "We deal with problems like this by the gorge, you know."

I knew it. SkyClan often make inroads into Twolegplace. This gives me a little insight into his thinking. He always seems to believe teamwork is the answer. Perhaps SkyClan is even more closely knit than I originally thought. Too bad I wasn't raised in their honor system. I ought to ask about Clan life later to him. Right now we have a task to accomplish.

"We're on mission to stop Sol, but I believe we should take care of these cats first," I suggest. "They'll only cause more trouble if we don't." And I need to preserve my reputation by forcing him back out, like what should had happened moons ago.

Rabbitleap nods his head. He looks at the cylindrical container of sleep-pebbles and then back to me. "What's the plan?" he asks, although his orange eyes glow with understanding and excitement.

I smirk. "Time to use some old tricks," I reply.


	10. Breaking Siege

Sorry about my late entry. Between daily English book reports and a lack of sleep, I just didn't have the time or motivation to get another chapter done. Oh well, here it is now.

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"This is _not_ going to work," Rabbitleap complains as he struggles to bring the piece of cold slab of meat up on the closed ledge opening.

I chuckle. After outlining the plan to him, he managed to open the large white container in the kitchen. It was pretty cold inside, but I managed to grab a kit-sized hunk of Twoleg food that was dark brown with hints of blue. It smells nice, but we needed it for our plan.

"It'll work," I assure him as I watch him finally get the bait on the ledge.

I hope it works. Please work!

I snack on some fallen salty-smelling crisp discs that fell out of a bag when we closed the white container. It tastes like burnt wood bits, but I don't complain; I've had worse.

Rabbitleap gets back down and tries to open the thing full of sleep-pebbles. I twitch my whiskers as he makes grunts of desperation trying to unhook the top. He stops and looks up at me with a look of annoyance. I can barely suppress a mrrow of amusement.

"A little help here?" he asks, embarrassment beginning to seep out of him.

He backs up as I go to the container and place my teeth on the lid. It takes plenty of effort, but it finally breaks free, throwing out a multitude of sleep-pebbles all over the place.

Now it's Rabbitleap's turn to laugh. "Nice mess," he comments while his eyes dance with laughter. He goes to pick one up.

Uh oh. He's going to grab it with his jaws. "Wait!" I call out.

He stops and looks at me. "What?" he crossly asks.

Those things disintegrate in your mouth. You'd get sleepy before you reached the ledge.

"Hold it with your paws," I tell him, "Treat them like, um, non-killer deathberries."

He rolls his eyes. "And how would I get them up there?" he sarcastically asks. "Non-killer deathberries, Magnum? So they're just berries?"

You're ruining my hastily-created similes, Rabbitleap. Stop making me sound mousebrained.

I look at the disgusting discs. "Sandwich them," I offer.

To make my point I gingerly grab one sleep-pebble with my paws and carefully place it on a disc. I take another with my mouth and put it on top.

"Try it this way," I tell him.

Rabbitleap gives a huff and takes the grouping in his jaws before jumping up next to the meat with his powerful hind legs.

"So I just rub the pebbles in?" he calls.

"Yeah," I answer.

While he laces the bait, I decide to jump up and figure out how to open the opening.

Unless I had a Twoleg's strength, it isn't going to open. Fox dung. Unless…

I notice the piece of wood blocking our path is held in by etched ends on each side. It should fall if I cut into the etching to destabilize it. I unsheathe my claws and begin scratching at the side. The wood bits break rather easily, to my surprise; it must be rotted.

"Watch out," I mention to Rabbitleap, who just finished rubbing the meat full of sleep-pebble. He gets closer beside me and realizes what I'm doing.

"It's going to fall on us," he informs me nervously.

Maybe it will. "No, it won't," I retort, and continue driving my claws into the old boards.

My forth strike does the trick, and the board falls away between Rabbitleap and I to the floor.

We won't have much time. Someone would realize what's going on.

"Go!" I hiss as I leap down to reach the next-door fence line.

He loudly sets his feet on the overgrown vegetation. I hear the yowls of Travis and his goons as they begin to make their way to our position.

So far so good. Here comes the crucial part.

Rabbitleap pointedly struggles with jumping on the fence with the meat in his jaws. His jumps are weaker than his full potential- the warrior can jump pretty high- and keeps falling back down. I meanwhile get out of sight on top of the neighboring Twoleg nest.

Travis and a ginger come galloping from the front of the den, throwing out piercing battle cries as they immediately begin to charge him. Rabbitleap notices, and drops the bait and jumps on the fence.

I see Scorch and the other she-cat round by the back. Uh oh.

Rabbitleap clears the fence line and runs through the rear garden by the nest I'm on. Scorch follows him and leaps the Twoleg wood barrier to continue chase, while Travis and the she-cats crowd around the bait.

Fox dung! Why does it have to be Scorch who follows Rabbitleap?

He's making significant progress on Rabbitleap, who just reached the other side of the garden. He releases his powerful haunches to leap over…

And loses his foothold and falls in front of the murderous rogue.

No!

At this point I'm running along the edge of the nest roof to get to the two cats. Scorch has Rabbitleap in a paw-hold and is savagely nipping at his pelt with his foaming jaws. Rabbitleap, from what I can see, is desperately trying to get out of his clutches.

"StarClan, help me!" I can hear him cry in desperation just before his voice is cut off by another of Scorch's guttural growls.

Fox dung, fox dung, FOX DUNG!

I leap off the corner of the nest and line myself in the air to fall perfectly of Scorch's back, claws unsheathed. I land on him with him stumbling from the unexpected weight, loosening his grip on Rabbitleap. The blood-stained warrior then breaks free from his grasp and turns around to return the favor.

"I gotcha!" I yell to Rabbitleap as he bites a white-furred hind leg.

I only get in a couple of well placed slashes and bites around his scruff before Scorch recovers and fights back, shoving his claw through my shoulder. The pain is intense but I continue to hold on, managing to sink my teeth on his scarred white muzzle. Rabbitleap meanwhile gets the sides with his extended claws, dealing additional punishment while I receive the brunt of Scorch's attacks.

This is payback to all you did, Scorch. All your attacks, all your lust for murder, all your insanity will come to a head.

"Sucks when the wind changes direction, doesn't it?" I hiss in his ear shortly before I tear it with my jaws.

Eventually I can feel Scorch beginning to slow down in his attacks, providing less resistance to our unrelenting blows. Rabbitleap backs away, but I still bite and scratch.

Scorch, in my mind, is one of the most black-hearted cats I've ever met.

"Magnum, stop!" I hear the brown-furred tom yell out. "He's had enough!"

You don't get it, Rabbitleap. He has no soul, no consciousness for what he does.

And that is where I truly stop my attack.

I once had no soul, no consciousness for what I did. Why am I resuming what I promised myself I would never do again?

I step back and study Scorch. His hollow and raspy breathing give a huffing motion to his blood-matted and ripped fur. This is the second time I know it's his blood. He's barely conscious; he can't bring his head up.

What if I was put in his position, to be prepared to live and die by blood? I was once like that, to kill for no other reason than a simple command.

I look at my own grey stained pelt. Some of the blood is mine, but most, particularly around my feet, were splashed with the sticky substance.

How close was I to killing him? Always before, my killing moves were skillful, surgical blows to the belly or neck. This time I almost tore him apart in a bout of uncontrolled rage.

I glance at Rabbitleap. A small look of distrust has begun to form in his eyes again. Distrust for saying I stopped being the bad guy. Distrust for saying I renounced my previous ways.

"He'll live," I tell him in a sober voice. And he will.

We need to get out of here. Travis and the gingers may come looking for Scorch if they hadn't eaten already, and we aren't in the best condition to fight 3 more cats, drugged or otherwise.

I think that defeating Scorch will help convince Travis to leave again.

"Hey Scorch," I hiss menacingly as I pad toward him. I can see his ear perk up slightly. "You are going to tell Travis to leave for real this time, else a scarred pelt will be the least of your worries. I showed mercy on you before and now."

What if he takes that as a weakness on my part? He always fights until he is physically unable to or until the other cat is long dead. Part of the reason why I clawed him to submission, but that's beside the point.

"The third time will _not_ be a charm," I inform him. His ear twitches slowly in reply.

I sheath my claws, and then proceed to knock him unconscious with a swipe to the head.

That should take care of him till sunrise.

It's sundown. We need to get to shelter.

I decide to glance at Rabbitleap again. His orange eyes show a certain uncertainty at my actions toward Scorch. No fear, though; he very well knows I saved his pelt and maybe his life.

"You can still jump, right?" I ask him. Scorch left a good deal of wounds on the youngster.

He shakes himself. "Yeah, I think so," he replies, casting worried glances at the matted pile of mange-pelt known as Scorch.

I look at the Twoleg nest. It's occupied by living Twolegs, but it will serve our purposes. The second floor has an opening that we could get through…

"Good," I say.

Time to make camp.

"We'll deal with Travis in the morning," I tell him.


End file.
